On occasion a snowmobile must leave a groomed trail, for example when crossing snow-free terrain or snow-free road surfaces. Carbides on the bottom faces of front steering skis of a snowmobile, which are important for traction on groomed snowmobile trails, can be damaged by rubbing on hard or rough surfaces. Carbides are expensive to replace. It is known to temporarily attach wheels to snowmobile skis or deploy wheels from snowmobile skis when a snowmobile is crossing snow-free surfaces in order to avoid contact of the skis with such surfaces.